We live in a world where over hundreds of years it has become acceptable for parents to let others care for their chidden. They do it because they need to work to pay the bills for the lifestyle they wish to have and impart to those children. Yet we are told the best way to…
Author: admin
Words; Edward Thomas
Words Out of us all That make rhymes Will you choose Sometimes – As the winds use A crack in a wall Or a drain, Their joy or their pain To whistle through – Choose me, You English words? I know you: You are light as dreams, Tough as oak, Precious as gold, As…
The Year Ahead
I listened to most of the foreign correspondents on BBC radio 4 discussing their predictions for 2023. They were all well informed guesses and often they get it right because for the most part, the players are all in place. But, as is the way of predictions and life in general, we must always suppose…
The Year Gone By
We look back, we look forward. We take stock. We make decisions But I am not sure that we ever tell ourselves the truth. Meanwhile the planet struggles and in many countries nothing changes for what we perceive as ‘the better’. And years are a method of counting based on the sun and earth which…
Traffic
Coming down from a Christmas in London on 27th the motorways were crowded. It was almost impossible to go at 70 mph (the national speed limit) anywhere between London and Bristol (roughly100 miles) and then the problems continued well past Taunton, added to which it rained. There was only one accident that we passed so…
International Politics
I chat with my friend Ed on occasions and we talk about how human beings run themselves and he has a phrase, that we are ‘gathering nuts’. The animal instinct to protect oneself and survive by making sure our food sources are protected, that we are warm and can maintain a modicum of health. That…
Christmas in London
I have been invited to spend Christmas in London, near Hampstead, with friends who are more like family than either of my families ever have been. Not at all sure what it will be like, the house is huge and I don’t think I have sat round a table of eleven diners since I was…
Everyone Wants A Hero
or to be one. The myths surrounding heroics nearly always have same things in common – whoever the person is or people are – there has to be a conflict. Whether born of the gods or chosen because of some special personality trait, a war or a battle against a terrible foe makes one a…
Which 30%?
Sounds quite grand. A lot of countries coming together to protect 30% of the planet for wildlife to stop extinctions and preserve biodiversity. But with companies wanting to plunder the Artic and governments always ready to grant money-making schemes the question is which 30% and why only 30%? Does the science tell us where to…
Guns
It is not what we do with what we create, but what others do. They have now free templates online to make and load 3d printable runs. The hobbyists who make them are having fun, making strange and ornate weapons and meeting to shoot on ranges. But the guns are obviously untraceable and can kill….